Started from the Bottom
Because they produced no food or goods themselves, this group sat at the absolute bottom of the Japanese feudal pyramid.
Who are the merchants?
In Japan, this military dictator held the actual political power and controlled the laws and finances.
Who is the Shogun?
This word originally referred to soldiers on horseback, but eventually became the unwritten moral code for European knights.
What is Chivalry?
Pop culture says peasants were dumb, but they were actually agricultural engineers who used this rotating crop technique to keep the soil healthy.
What is the three-field system?
The core rule of the entire European feudal system was a simple equation: Land equals this.
What is Power?
In Europe, this group made up 90% of the population and sat at the bottom of the pyramid.
Who are the peasants?
In the European power pyramid, when a Knight was given a small piece of land by a Noble in exchange for military service and protection, the Knight was officially known by this term.
What is a vassal?
This word translates directly to "The Way of the Warrior" in English.
What is Bushido?
Knights supposedly always protected fellow Christians, but they actually looted and sacked this major Christian city during the Fourth Crusade.
What is Constantinople?
While Samurai were paid in rice, European Knights were paid with smaller pieces of land known as this.
What are Fiefs?
Unlike free peasants, these specific European agricultural workers were legally tied to the land and could not leave without permission.
Who are serfs?
At the top of the Japanese pyramid, this person was viewed as a descendant of the gods but was actually just a symbolic figurehead who dealt with poetry and ceremonies.
Who is the Emperor?
If ordered to do something unjust by a Daimyo, a Samurai would still do it because this specific virtue overwrote all others in historical practice.
What is Chugi (Loyalty)?
People think Knights carried an official rulebook of Chivalry, but the rules were actually kept alive through songs, literature, and this social force.
What is peer pressure? (would also accept convention)
The strict system of colors and symbols used by knights to identify friend from foe in the chaos of battle.
What is Heraldry?
Even though they crafted essential, prized items like samurai swords, artisans were ranked below farmers on the Japanese hierarchy for this specific reason.
What is because they did not produce food (or only reworked materials produced by others)?
These wealthy Japanese provincial lords swore absolute loyalty to the Shogun and employed massive armies of samurai.
Who are the Daimyo?
This U.S. President was so interested in the Bushido code that he bought dozens of copies of a book about it for his friends and family.
Who is Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt?
Pop culture portrays early medieval knights as noble heroes in shining armor, but before the chivalric code was introduced, the public actually viewed them as this violent, lawless group.
What are thugs (or mercenaries / bullies)?
In European Heraldry, putting this specific animal on your shield traditionally meant you possessed bravery, valor, strength, and royalty.
What is a lion?
Unlike modern society where you can change your career, the Japanese feudal system was a rigid structure where you were born into your class, and you did this in it.
What is die in it?
In the European system, the King leased large plots of land to these people (name one of their titles) in exchange for loyalty and soldiers.
Who are Nobles (or Lords / Barons)?
Historians believe the chivalric code was influenced by the Church and this 14th-century literary genre spread by troubadours.
What is romantic literature (or courtly love / songs and poems)?
The bushido code stated a warrior didn't need to give their word or promise to do something, because speaking the action and doing the action are considered this.
What is the exact same thing?
To ensure a knight could be identified through the chaos of battle, heralds made a strict rule that you could not put one of these (like gold or silver) directly on top of another one on a shield.
What is a metal color?